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Como Park, Zoo & Conservatory is one of those places that’s so big, and so full of beauty and things to do, that sometimes I don’t know where to start. You can only do so much in one day. I think of it as the Central Park of St. Paul.

Whether you want to jog around the lake, rent a paddle boat, plan a picnic, listen to outdoor music, take your kid for a carousel ride, cross country ski, look at flamingos and monkeys, take pictures of endless gardens and colorful flowers, bike paved trails, or lounge in the grass with a book, Como Park has it all. This is one of those gems that St. Paul is truly, truly lucky to have. If you haven’t been there lately, what’s stopping you?

My 1-year-old son and I packed up earlier this week with stroller, water, and snacks, and set out for a 1.6-mile walk around the lake. We stopped along the way to pick up acorns and throw them in the water, to watch a dad and his kids fish off a small dock, and to laze in the grass and gaze at puffy white clouds on a perfect summer day. We didn’t make it to the carousel, but with all that there is to do at Como Park, that means we’ll just have to come back again soon.

Highland National Golf Course

So maybe you aren’t the next Tiger Woods or Y.E. Yang, but if you’re still on a high from last week’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine, pick up your clubs and head for the hills. The city of St. Paul maintains four golf courses, including the Como Golf Course, Highland National, Highland 9-Hole, and Phalen Golf Course. You can book tee times online for any of these courses at www.GolfStPaul.org.

Follow in the footsteps of Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schultz, who learned to golf at the Highland National Golf Course. It was also renovated in 2005 and now boasts a longer and more challenging course. Golf instruction is even available by PGA and LPGA pros.

Nearby, the fairways at the Highland 9-Hole golf course are framed by large, mature trees and this course is perfect for all levels of golfers. If you haven’t played here before, try it out during one of the summer “Saturday Night Nine for Nine” events from 4-7 p.m. It costs just $1 per hole! Half price beer and wine is served from 5-8 p.m., so you can’t beat that deal.

Phalen Golf Course

Or try Como, which is great for average golfers, featuring rolling hills and water hazards.  Meanwhile, the 18-hole Phalen Golf Course is a par-70, with a driving range, putting green, and stretches along the west side of Lake Phalen in Phalen Park.

From beautiful weeping willows to devilish sand traps and large greens, these courses offer both scenery and challenges to keep you coming back for more.

See an emerald swallowtail at the Como Conservatory's Blooming Butterflies exhibit.

It’s not every day  you see shimmery green stripes peeking out at you from between the leaves. At Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, you’ll not only see the emerald swallowtail butterfly, but hundreds of other winged creatures flitting about, too. The exhibit, Blooming Butterflies, is housed next to the conservatory in a giant tent shaped, appropriately, like a caterpillar.

The tent, shaped ever so cleverly like a caterpillar, for the Blooming Butterflies exhibit. (Photo courtesy of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.)

I visited on a cloudy, drizzly day earlier this week and it was just the dose of nature I needed until the sun comes out again. On my way into the tent earlier this week, a volunteer stopped me at the door for a briefing.

“Do not touch the butterflies—let them come to you,” the volunteer explained. “Be careful of where you step. Butterflies may be on the walkway.” With that, he opened the doors leading to a butterfly wonderland. On trees, on flowers, flapping their delicate wings in the air—these winged beauties were everywhere!

Some people came with cameras and long lenses (no tripods allowed), zooming in to snap off what were sure to be gorgeous shots. I spotted a butterfly (or maybe a moth?) called the small postman with its bright red stripes on each black wing, a giant swallowtail, and at least seven or eight other varieties, too.

The exhibit is still waiting for a shipment of blue morphos from  South America. They’re probably the exhibit’s biggest draw, understandably. I saw these giant, fist-sized butterflies for myself when in Costa Rica years ago and I can’t wait to see them again… a good reason to return to the exhibit (with camera) in another month or so.

What: The Blooming Butterflies exhibit runs until Sept. 7, every day, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Where: Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, 55103

Getting There: Find detailed driving directions to Como Park here.

Parking: There is plenty of free parking, though depending on the day and time of your visit, you may need to drive around a few times to snag a spot. Here is a link to a map of Como’s grounds an parking lot if you want to plan ahead.